Sunday River is unlike any other golf course in Maine.
One of the Pine Tree State’s elite tracks, Sunday River is located totally in western Oxford County’s Mahoosuc Mountain Range, which means it is susceptible to extreme weather that no other course encounters. The 2013 golf season is a prime example of that.
Greg Perry, Sunday River’s general manager, has been an employee there since it opened in 2005. So he has seen the course mature over its nine years of existence. And because he lives in Bethel and works at the Sunday River Ski Resort during the offseason, he sees what goes on at the course all year, not just when golf is played.
The course’s opening date to its 125 members, plus tournament and outings, of June 20, obviously was a first in terms of lateness. Sunday River was open to the general public last week on July 18, another first. Generally, Sunday River is open by Memorial Day Weekend.
“We had a long and severe winter,” Perry said. “Then we had a cold and dry spring.”
There was snow on the course until the first week of May, and it snowed in Newry on the Sunday of Memorial Day Weekend, May 28. Then came June, which drenched Maine, dumping 11 inches on Sunday River. And nine more inches fell in July, which does not include the heavy rainfall of this past Tuesday.
As a result of all these weather conditions, there have been many rumors about the status of Sunday River. It was being said that the course had lost some of its greens and that it might not open at all in 2013.
“We did have injury on some greens,” Perry said, “but we did not lose anything.”
Perry said that if the course had been opened as scheduled in May, “It would not have been the Sunday River we wanted it to be.” And there are parts of fairways and greens which remain a work in progress.
Perhaps Frank Papineau of Casco, who played at Sunday River Monday, said it best: “There’s nothing wrong with Sunday River. It’s just not the Sunday River we are accustomed to playing.”
Perry and superintendent Dave D’Andrea concurred. D’Andrea’s crew is working diligently to restore the course to the level at which players have seen in past years. If the weather cooperates, that can be done.
July, August and September are the Sunday River prime months, so there still is an opportunity to have a good season there. The plan is to close Oct. 27, which gives D’Andrea time to put the course to bed before it becomes frozen.
Because of the late opening, the greens fees at Sunday River are very reasonable, currently priced much lower than they would be in the month of July. Information on fees and tee times is available at 824-4653.
Noteworthy
• Sunday River is part of the Harris Golf nine-course group. Tickets are being sold at all nine courses for the Sept. 14-15 Harris Golf Charity Classic at the Falmouth Country Club featuring the LPGA Legends of Golf.
With the purchase of a $20 ticket, comes a pass to play at any of the eight non-provate Harris courses. At Sunday River a player will have to pay $25 for a golf cart, but at the other seven courses — Old Marsh, Penobscot Valley, Wilson Lake, Mere Creek, Bath, Highland Green and Freeport — the cart is free. Those passes will be honored at the Harris courses from Sept. 16 until June 30, 2014. There are openings in the pro-ams which will be Sept. 12 and 13. Information is available at 442-8725. Pro-am proceeds will benefit Camp Susan Curtis and First Tee of Maine
• The Maine State Golf Association’s Richardson Memorial Tournament at Fairlawn July 19 and 20 netted more than $400 in MSGA account contributions and a 50-50 raffle for the Davis Richardson Memorial Scholarship Fund.
• If you need to purchase a gift for your favorite lady golfer, Antigua is a line of golf shirts that are so good the members of the United States team in the Solheim Cup Aug. Aug. 13-18 at the Colorado Golf Club in Parker, Colo., will be wearing them in defense of their title. Information on these shirts is available at www.Antigua.com.
Bill Kennedy is a freelance writer.
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